NYers Pay $6,157 A Year In Taxes

Property taxes are the highest tax revenue base for New York, making up about 32.4 percent of all state tax revenue, a report this week from the Tax Foundation found, Gannett’s Haley Viccaro reports.

Over the past three decades, New York’s state and local tax burden has ranked among the highest in the nation, currently at 12 percent of income—which ranks second nationally. New York residents pay $6,157 per capita in state and local taxes, the report said.

Property taxes also made up the greatest revenue for state and local governments combined at 35 percent. Sales and gross receipts comprised a total of 34 percent in revenue.

“Proportions vary based on the types of taxes and fees administered within state borders, the types of resources within the state, and the policy priorities of state and local government,” said Elizabeth Malm, economist for the Tax Foundation, in a statement.

New York receives about 31 percent in revenue from personal income taxes, 25 percent from sales and gross receipts, 6.7 percent in corporate income taxes and about 4 percent from motor vehicle licenses and other taxes.

States vary significantly in tax revenue because they rely differently on certain taxes, the Tax Foundation said. A state with a high volume of natural resources, for example, would collect large revenues from taxes on those resources.

About a century ago, property taxes made up more than 80 percent of the total tax revenues for state and local governments, which decreased down to one-third of total tax revenues in recent years, according to the Tax Foundation.